Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Daily Devotional June 23 - Simple Faith

""Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, where is He that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen His star in the east, and are come to worship Him." Matthew 2:1-2

These Magi traveled quite far and probably with a caravan of as many as 1,000. The reason I say this is that these men were royalty and when they showed up in Jerusalem "he (Herod) was troubled and all of Jerusalem with him." At this time in history it is not likely that three men on camels troubled the king or all Jerusalem. These men knew something that others did not know, i. e., there would be a star, low to the ground, hovering and under the light of that star the Saviour of the world would be born.

They believed it, they knew it in their heart. They believed that the star was significant and they believed in their heart what they had not yet seen, (the birth of Jesus). Somehow these men understood what others could not or would not. Somehow these men saw, read or heard something that would cause them to collectively gather riches, traverse the desert lands for days to enter into another kingdom, with a hostile ruler, in order to bring gifts to a child that they did not know. What could drive a man or woman to do such a thing? Simple faith.

Those with faith hear God. Any one who can read can read the Word of God, but not everyone who reads it comes away with the same understanding.

Why? Simple faith. Simple faith is the God kind of faith. Reckless abandon on a Word from God. Faith to go the distance in spite of the obstacles and barriers ahead. Faith see the obstacles and barriers as stepping stones. Simple faith believes what it reads when it opens the Bible. That's right. No objections. No rationalization. No comparative analysis, just simple faith. Simple faith is what brought these Magi to see Jesus and simple faith is what will bring you to see Jesus also.

Why is this so important? Because we are in a techno age and simple faith is being replaced with systems and programs. Simple faith is not looked upon with respect, but with question. Simple faith to many today means simple minded. Students in seminaries are taught to have differing views and to question the authority of the scriptures in light of other texts. Who is going to come from the east and offer gifts if there is no faith? I wonder, how many times God has spoken to you and you did not gather your precious things and set out on a journey to worship the Sovereign of the world.